Space Vision Misunderestimated

Tech Central Station ^ | June 15, 2004 | Charles Rousseaux

[Dead Dog]

Robert Cohrum's book on John Boyed talked about Boyed's long standing fight with Wright Patterson. Apparently several WWII era German aerdynamicists toured the facility. They commented "We had seven such facilities during the war, now we know why we lost".

Nasa is just a retirement home for AF technocrat and careerists.

[Dead Dog]

Make that Robert Corum and John Boyd. Mindless typing error.

[theFIRMbss]

>Nasa is just a retirement home for AF technocrat and careerists

Have you read this book?
I don't know. NASA is just
a very weird place.

"From Publishers: An astrophysicist on the senior staff of NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute team, Chaisson was centrally involved in the extensive testing and deploying of the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990. The orbiting observatory, designed to measure distance in deep space with great precision, was the subject of bickering and power-juggling among government agencies, academic astronomers and project engineers. Chaisson, who kept a log of his own work with this profoundly complex, nearly 20-year-long project, offers an observant account of the development and difficulties attached to Hubble's progress, including the problems related to its early orbiting and the flaws discovered in its crucial 94.5-inch primary mirror. Careful to protect related military-intelligence secrets and teasing readers with allusions to the military's large, and largely deleterious, role in the project, Chaisson mitigates the expose aspect of his report. Amateur astronomers, however, will surely reflect the same glee Chaisson demonstrates as they follow his abundantly illustrated chronicle of this "Big Science" effort. -- Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc."

[Dead Dog]

Never read it. I did work as a contractor at NASA. And to be fair, the personel are in place to do an OUTSTANDING job. Especially if given a mission and strong leadership.

[I got the rope]

Bumping this very interesting thread.